eatinghttp://www.vam.ac.uk/users/taxonomy/term/111/all
enPewterhttp://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/1453
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This is a collection of images relating to Pewter </div>
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<p>pewter</p>
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<li data-cnid="1454">
<a title="Salt Cellar, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1454">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10153-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Salt Cellar, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Salt Cellar, cast pewter, England, about 1320, museum number: 4474–1858<br/><br/>
<h3>Salt Cellar</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England, about 1320<br />Inscribed in Latin 'Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee' and with the arms of France and England in use until 1340</p>
<p>This salt dates from about 1320 and is cast in relief with scenes of the Annunciation (the Angel Gabriel announcing to the Mary that she will give birth to Jesus) and the Latin inscription 'Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee'. The salt can be dated on the basis of the two shields of arms which represent the royal arms of France 'ancient' and the arms of England 'ancient' which were in use until 1340 when Edward III claimed the French throne and quartered the arms of France with those of England.</p>
<p>Salt cellars in silver or pewter were important vessels on the medieval dining table. Enough lids from such pieces survive to suggest that by 1400 they were part of the pewterer's stock in trade.</p>
<p>Salt was an expensive preservative and condiment and was used much more than it is today; it was not inappropriate therefore that a vessel containing salt should be elaborately decorated and inscribed. The religious nature of the inscriptions and scenes meant that for many years, the present example was thought to be a pyx (a container for the wafers used in celebrating the Mass). However, two very similar objects, in Paris and Berlin, found with the inscription 'when you are at table think first of the poor', indicate that it originally had a domestic function.</p></p>
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</li>
<li data-cnid="1455">
<a title="Flagon. cast pewter, England or France" href="/users/node/1455">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10144-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Flagon. cast pewter, England or France</h1>
<p>Flagon. cast pewter, England or France, 1350–1400, museum number: M.74–1914<br/><br/>
<h3>Flagon</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England or France; 1350-1400<br />Inscribed 'P:FILLE:H:F DE:MAILEI' on handle (owner's name?)</p>
<p>In 1348 the Mayor of London approved regulations to control the rapidly expanding pewter trade. Apprenticeships were formalised and goods had to meet prescribed standards. This faceted wine flagon may be an example of what is referred to in these ordinances as 'square' flagons and later as 'Normandy pottes'. The form, if not the object itself, probably originated in France.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1456">
<a title="Cruet, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1456">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10149-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Cruet, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Cruet, cast pewter, England, about 1400, museum number: M.26–1939<br/><br/>
<h3>Cruet</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England, about 1400<br />Inscribed 'THOMAS HUNTE: HONORIFICABILIUT' on body (a medieval tongue-twister)<br />Countess of Loudoun gift</p>
<p>Until about 1400 churches provided the principal market for pewter. Cruets, usually in pairs, held wine and water for use during the Mass. This cruet was found in a well cavity at Ashby de la Zouche Castle in Leicestershire. It must pre-date the filling of the well during the building of the Great Tower in 1476.</p>
<p>The inscriptions on the vessel, are presumably an owner's name together with an abbreviated version of the well-known medieval tongue-twister HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS, the longest word known to medieval Latin scholars from the ninth century onwards. The best-known example of the use of this word is in Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, scene 1, in which Costard the clown exclaims: 'O they have lived long on the alms-basket of words. I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus; thou art easier swallow'd than a flap-dragon'.</p></p>
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</li>
<li data-cnid="1457">
<a title="Dish, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1457">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10150-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Dish, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Dish, cast pewter, England, 1490–1500, museum number: M.39–1945<br/><br/>
<h3>Dish<br /></h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England, 1490-1500<br />Owner's mark a crowned feather</p>
<p>The plate bears the crown and feather motif of the heir apparent to the English throne. It may have been part of the household pewter of Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's older brother who died in 1502. It was one of 20 similar dishes dating from about 1500 found during building work at Guy's Hospital in 1899, near the site of Arthur's palace at Kennington.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1458">
<a title="Baluster Measure, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1458">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10157-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Baluster Measure, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Baluster Measure, cast pewter, England, 1550–1600, museum number: M.314–1923<br/><br/>
<h3>Baluster Measure</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England, 1550-1600<br />Maker's touch 'F' between two stags (unidentified), house mark of a bishop with mitre and 'NE', verification mark 'HR' below a crown<br />Pleydell-Bouverie gift</p>
<p>Measures are among the most commonly surviving pewter vessels. They were used in taverns to carry set quantities of wine and ale from barrels to the table.</p>
<p>This baluster measure was dug up in Parliament Street, Westminster, in 1903. Its ball and wedge thumb-piece and narrow 'waisted' profile suggest a 16th-century date. The 'bishop and mitre' ownership marks struck repeatedly on the lid and body may refer to the name of a tavern such as the Mitre or Bishop's Head.</p>
<p>Baluster measures were usually made from low-quality pewter with a higher lead content.Their distinctive shape probably comes from earlier examples made of pottery and leather. Measures varied in style and capacity according to local regulations. The crowned 'HR' mark shows that this measure passed inspection by a local authority.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1459">
<a title="Dish, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1459">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10158-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Dish, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Dish, cast pewter, Nuremberg, Germany, 1569, museum number: 1133–1905<br/><br/>
<h3>Dish</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />Nuremberg, Germany, 1569 engraved in mould<br />Signed in the mould 'BI' (unidentified); made by Albrecht Preissensin (active 1564-98)<br />Owner's initials 'FS' on back and arms of Nuremberg</p>
<p>Nuremberg was a great centre of the finest pewter. The master-pewterer Albrecht Preissensin cast this dish in an etched (rather than engraved) mould creating a low-relief woodcut effect. The design depicts the Judgement of Paris after an engraving by Hans Brosamer and the Virtues after engravings by Virgil Solis, both well-known 16th-century printmakers.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1460">
<a title="Candlestick, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1460">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10148-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Candlestick, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Candlestick, cast pewter, Stockholm, Sweden, about 1663–70, museum number: M.133A–1935<br/><br/>
<h3>Candlestick</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />Stockholm, Sweden; about 1663-70<br />Maker's touch of Vieth Fijtsson (active 1637-84)<br />Young bequest</p>
<p>This distinctive twisted candlestick is made of three sections which were cast in moulds. Inside the stem a vertical seam shows it was cast in two halves and soldered together. Between 1663 and 1670 Vieth Fijtsson, the maker of this piece, produced 24 pairs of candlesticks cast in the same moulds as this for the Swedish court of Queen Hedvig Eleonora.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1461">
<a title="Beaker, pewter" href="/users/node/1461">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10151-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Beaker, pewter</h1>
<p>Beaker, pewter, cast and engraved, Magdeburg, Germany, October 1763, made by Ernst Jakob Kopcke, museum number: M.148–1930<br/><br/>
<h3>Beaker</h3>
<p>Pewter, cast and engraved<br />Magdeburg, Germany; dated October 1763<br />Made by Ernst Jakob Kopcke (master pewterer from 1758)<br />Port bequest</p>
<p>This beaker cover is one of a small group of vessels which were engraved by Frederick Baron Trenck whilst imprisoned in Fort Etoile, Magdeburg. An account of these beakers was given by Trenck in his autobiography The Life and Surprising Adventures of Frederick Baron Trenck: 'The daylight I enjoyed induced me to amuse myself by engraving satires, and little drawings with the point of my nail, on the tin cup out of which I drank: and I soon brought this art to so much perfection that my first attempt, though imperfect, was carried to the city. The commandant ordered another such cup to be given me; and in this, I succeeded better than the first; in short, the different majors under whose care I was, requested each a sample of my productions.'</p>
<p>One of the scenes on the museum's beaker, showing the baron sitting in a chair chained to the wall with a chain and collar weighing '68 lbs.' (30.84 kg), refers to an incident when Fort Etoile was under the command of General Borch. 'This cruel man came immediately to my prison, but like a hangman about to take charge of his victim. He was accompanied by locksmiths, carrying a weighty collar, which they put round my neck and a strong chain that was joined to that I had already at my feet; and to these were added two additional ones, so that I was really chained like a savage beast'.</p>
<p>The entire surface of the beaker and cover is engraved with scenes and inscriptions principally in German but also in French. The top of the cover is engraved with a series of scenes, some taken from Aesop's fables with captions written in minute script below each scene in German. The central knob is engraved with a hunting dog on a leash. The inside of the cover is engraved in the centre with a circular panel with scrolling foliage containing four coats of arms with a figure of cupid in the centre and the motto amitie nous unis - 'love unites us' at the top.</p>
<p>The beaker can be dated exactly by the engraving 'Friedrich Baron von der Trenck, member of the King's Carabineers, Rittmeister of O'Donells' Regiment and Consul to the Great Porte in Hungary, in the tenth year of his imprisonment he engraved this beaker with a bent nail finished in Magdeburg in October 1763.'</p>
<p>Frederick Baron Trenck was one of the most distinguished soldiers of fortune of the eighteenth century. Born in 1726 at Konigsberg, he had a distinguished academic career at the university and was presented to Frederick of Prussia as one of the university's top scholars. He also established a reputation as a duellist. After university, he joined the life-guards, an elite regiment of the Prussian cavalry. He did not however neglect his intellectual studies and counted Voltaire among his friends. He was appointed an orderly officer on Frederick the Great's own staff.</p>
<p>His downfall followed an ill-advised love affair with the king's sister Princess Amalie. The king had him arrested in 1743 as a spy and confined him in the fortress of Glatz from which he escaped in 1746. After serving in the Russian service, he returned to Prussia in 1754 and was confined in the fortress at Magdeburg for nine years, five months and 'some days'. In his own words, 'when I lay in the Bastille of Magdeburg, the mighty Frederick the Great said: "Whilst my name is Frederick, Trenck shall never see day"'. He made several attempts to escape and was chained to the wall, incidents which are recorded on the museum's beaker.</p>
<p>At the end of the Seven Years War, Maria Theresa secured Trenck's release. In 1780 he bought an estate at Zwerbach there wrote his celebrated autobiography. He travelled extensively in Europe visiting France and England in 1774-7 and in 1788 went to Paris. He had been exhibited as a wax-work complete with chains at the Palais Royal and had two plays written about him. He was lionised by Paris society: 'wherever I dined or supped all the friends and relatives of the family were invited that they might have a sight of me; and after meals the company immediately crowded round me with the same view'. He was also presented at the Court at Versailles. He then retired to his estates to write, returning to Paris in 1791. He lived safely throughout the Terror but was finally denounced as an Austrian spy and was sent to the guillotine on July 25th 1794.</p></p>
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</li>
<li data-cnid="1462">
<a title="Mug, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1462">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10159-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Mug, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Mug, cast pewter, England, 1703, museum number: M.60–1945<br/><br/>
<h3>Mug</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England, dated 1703<br />Maker's touch '16--' (unidentified)<br />Inscribed 'John Walltrope Att the Bell Att Turvey 1703'<br />Yeates bequest</p>
<p>Mugs were often stolen from taverns, so many innkeepers inscribed ownership marks on them. Some even bore the inscription 'If Sold Stole'! This one is inscribed on behalf of the Bedfordshire innkeeper John Walthorp. Surviving tankards with the fashionable swirling decoration of about 1700 are rare.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1463">
<a title="Biscuit Box, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1463">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10142-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Biscuit Box, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Biscuit Box, cast pewter, Birmingham, England, about 1903, designed by Archibald Knox (1864–1933), made by W.H. Haseler, museum number: CIRC.934–1967<br/><br/>
<h3>Biscuit Box</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />Birmingham, England; about 1903<br />Designed by Archibald Knox (1864-1933); made by W.H. Haseler<br />Marked 'ENGLISH PEWTER, O194, MADE IN ENGLAND'<br />Battersby gift</p>
<p>Archibald Knox was one of the most important designers working for Liberty &amp; Co. He was born on the Isle of Man and his Celtic background strongly influenced his work. This box is decorated with square stylised leaves and flowers. Liberty's marketed this successful design for over 20 years as part of their 'Tudric' range of pewter.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1464">
<a title="Candlestick, cast pewter" href="/users/node/1464">
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<h1>Candlestick, cast pewter</h1>
<p>Candlestick, cast pewter, England, dated 1616, but possibly about 1920, museum number: M.210–1925<br/><br/>
<h3>Candlestick</h3>
<p>Cast pewter<br />England; dated 1616, but possibly about 1920<br />Cast with the arms of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers 'ANO D 1616' and 'WILLIAM GRANGR'</p>
<p>This candlestick has aroused much debate since it first appeared on the market in 1922. The column of the candlestick is cast in relief with formalised plants and flowers; the base is cast with strapwork rectangles and roundels incorporating flowers, plants, the arms of the Pewterers' Company of London, the date ANO D 1616 and the name WILLIAM GRANGR.</p>
<p>Differences in the cast work on the stem and base suggest it might be two candlesticks put together, if not an outright fake. While the shape has precedents in earlier brass, no similar pewter candlesticks are known.</p>
<p>Who was William Granger? A document from 1639, discovered in 1982, was found to be signed by William 'Granger', using the same spelling as that used on the candlestick - GRANGR - suggesting a connection between the two. William Grainger is recorded as an official in the Worshipful Company of Pewterers by 1610, acting as Steward by 1620. In 1638, he became upper warden of the Company. Is this connection too good to be true?</p>
<p>The significance of the date, 1616, which appears on a series of English pewter wares, has never been satisfactorily explained. Dated English pewter often commemorates an important royal event such as the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 and his marriage to Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In 1616 Charles I was created Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales, after the death of his brother Henry. However, such souvenirs usually survive in greater numbers. This candlestick is unique.</p>
<p>Recent examinations of the candlestick take us no closer to verifying its authenticity. X-Ray analysis showed no discrepancy between the alloys used on stem and base but they gave no indication as to age. Some pewter specialists argue that the decoration has the telltale signature of the Arts &amp; Crafts.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1465">
<a title="Vase, pewter" href="/users/node/1465">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10145-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Vase, pewter</h1>
<p>Vase, pewter, London, England, 1998, designed and made by Toby Russell, museum number: M.9–1998<br/><br/>
<h3>Vase</h3>
<p>Pewter<br />London, England, 1998<br />Designed and made by Toby Russell (b. 1963)<br />Stamped 'TR'<br />Commissioned by the V&amp;A in 1998</p>
<p>Modern metalworkers produce highly sophisticated designs in pewter. Promoted by the Worshipful Company of Pewterers and leading colleges of art and design, pewter has undergone a revival as both a useful and beautiful modern metal. Annual awards such as 'Pewter Live' nurture the next generation of pewterers and introduce contemporary designs into the industry.</p>
<p>To make this vase, the London silversmith and pewterer Toby Russell scored, folded and soldered a sheet of pewter. He wanted to create a sense of movement on the highly reflective surface. He said that he 'distorted the environment around the piece by means of the form alone without need for superfluous detail or ornamentation'.</p></p>
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<div class="field-label">Album tags:&nbsp;</div>
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lightbox </div>
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tableware </div>
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lighting </div>
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eating </div>
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drinking </div>
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alcohol </div>
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croft lyons </div>
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alfred yeates </div>
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pewter </div>
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homewares </div>
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communion </div>
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alcoholalfred yeatescommunioncroft lyonsdrinkingeatinghomewareslightboxlightingpewtertablewareTue, 19 Oct 2010 09:59:26 +00001453 at http://www.vam.ac.uk/usersBrasshttp://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/1438
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The V&amp;amp;A&#039;s brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles - from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. </div>
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<p>brass</p>
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<li data-cnid="1439">
<a title="Candlestick, cast brass" href="/users/node/1439">
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<h1>Candlestick, cast brass</h1>
<p>Candlestick, cast brass, England, about 1500, museum number: M.18–1964<br/><br/>
<h3>Candlestick</h3>
<p>Cast brass<br />England; about 1500</p>
<p>This is an early example of an English candlestick. Similar candlesticks have been found in the River Thames in London. The yellowish glow suggests a relatively high zinc content.</p>
<p>Before electricity, lighting one's home was an expensive, time-consuming and smelly business. Candles of beeswax or tallow (animal fat) gave a dim light and needed constant attention. The tallow or wax burned faster than the wick and needed constant trimming. The candle stub of burnt down animal fat or beeswax would have been extracted and melted down to make new candles.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1440">
<a title="Dish, brass" href="/users/node/1440">
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<h1>Dish, brass</h1>
<p>Dish, brass, chased and engraved with silver inlay, Venice, Italy, about 1550–1600, museum number: 194–1887<br/><br/>
<h3>Dish</h3>
<p>Brass, chased and engraved with silver inlay<br />Venice, Italy; about 1550-1600<br />Coat of arms (unidentified)</p>
<p>Venice was the centre of a flourishing trade with Egypt, Syria and Persia. The city exported sheet copper and brass, which then returned in the form of elaborately engraved and inlaid metalwork for the local aristocratic market. Venetian craftsmen also copied Islamic designs. This dish is a masterpiece of the engraver's art. It is adorned with 'arabesques', interlaced vines and stems, which became a feature of European metalwork in the 16th century.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1441">
<a title="Candlestick, brass" href="/users/node/1441">
<img src="http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/sites/default/files/imagecache/vam_71px_crop/album_images/10116-large.jpg" alt="" />
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<h1>Candlestick, brass</h1>
<p>Candlestick, brass, cast, chased and engraved, Venice, Italy, 1550–1600, museum number: M.2–1953<br/><br/>
<h3>Candlestick</h3>
<p>Brass, cast, chased and engraved<br />Venice, Italy, 1550-1600<br />Coat of arms (unidentified)<br />Hildburgh gift</p>
<p>This candlestick exemplifies the great mix of cultural influences on Venetian brasswork. The shape was associated with Nuremberg in southern Germany. The density of the engraving followed the local fashion for Islamic design. The depictions of flowers, grotesques and Bacchus (the god of wine), rather than abstract interlaced work, have a distinctly Italian flavour.</p></p>
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<li data-cnid="1442">
<a title="Astronomical Compendium, sheet copper" href="/users/node/1442">
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<h1>Astronomical Compendium, sheet copper</h1>
<p>Astronomical Compendium, sheet copper, gilt and engraved, Augsburg, Germany, 1557, made by Christopher Schissler (about 1531–1609), museum number: M.167–1938<br/><br/>
<h3>Astronomical Compendium</h3>
<p>Sheet copper, gilt and engraved<br />Augsburg, Germany, dated 1557<br />Made by Christopher Schissler (about 1531-1609) and signed in Latin 'Christopher Schissler made me in Augsburg in the year 1557'<br />Miller gift</p>
<p>This is an astronomical compendium and includes a sundial for four latitudes, a nocturnal dial with chronomatic tables, a compass, tables giving phases of the moon, and a table of latitudes for London, Amsterdam, Oxford, Paris and other cities. The compendium was made to a popular pattern but the towns engraved were specific to its owner's interests. It may have once belonged to a German prince or a wealthy travelling merchant.</p>
<p>The V&amp;A has a small but significant collection of scientific instruments, collected primarily for its decorative qualities. Sheet brass is ideal for making scientific instruments. It is hard-wearing, easily engraved, light and portable.</p>
<p>Specialist makers of scientific instruments emerged during the 1550s. They catered for an increased interest in navigation, travel, geography and the workings of the universe. By the 17th century, it was fashionable for wealthy gentlemen to have a sound understanding of all branches of learning, from arts and literature to mathematics and the natural sciences. Scientific instruments were designed to impress as well as educate.</p>
<p>Schissler's workshop was famous. He specialised in sundials and compendia and produced instruments for the great Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe.</p></p>
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<h1>Candlestick, cast brass</h1>
<p>Candlestick, cast brass, England, about 1650, museum number: 389-1906<br/><br/>
<h3>Candlestick</h3>
<p>Cast brass<br />England, about 1650</p>
<p>From the 14th to the 17th century, brass candlesticks were the most common form of lighting in well-to-do households. Candlestick designs changed according to fashion, but also for practical purposes. In the 17th century they were made with wide spreading bases for stability and centrally-placed drip pans to catch the wax or fat.</p>
<p>This trumpet shaped candlestick is cast in two sections. The body is hollow cast, the corrugations giving strength to the shaft. The nozzle was often detachable to prevent the candle from falling into the shaft when the wax melted. This kind of candlestick is often seen in contemporary still-life paintings.</p></p>
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<h1>Buckle, brass</h1>
<p>Buckle, brass, cast and gilded, Zurich, Switzerland, about 1680, museum number: 4040–1856<br/><br/>
<h3>Buckle</h3>
<p>Brass, cast and gilded<br />Zurich, Switzerland; about 1680<br />Probably made in the workshop of Hans Peter Oeri (1637-92)</p>
<p>This gilded buckle, cast and chased with fighting foxes and hounds, once fastened a cartridge belt for hunting. It was probably made in the workshop of the celebrated Swiss goldsmith, Hans Peter Oeri. Unlike English goldsmiths, European workshops specialised in a variety of metals. Oeri, in German-speaking Zurich, followed the great metalworking traditions of nearby Augsburg and Nuremberg.</p></p>
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<h1>Tobacco box, sheet and cast brass</h1>
<p>Tobacco box, sheet and cast brass, engraved, The Netherlands, 1690–1700, museum number: M.175-1939<br/><br/>
<h3>Tobacco Box</h3>
<p>Sheet and cast brass, engraved<br />The Netherlands, 1690-1700<br />Gurney Bequest</p>
<p>This tobacco box contains several compartments all exquisitely engraved with scenes illustrating the virtues of a sober family life. Inside the lid a woman is depicted committing adultery in full view of her husband. An inscription in Dutch translates as, 'How can a young woman bully an old man? Another makes the baby and I like a mother rock the cradle'.</p>
<p>Another compartment is engraved with a husband and wife at odds and the inscription 'I have an old husband who gives me no pleasure, but Venus manages the business so that I have no reason to complain'. The base has a false bottom. Its lid depicts a happy family, with the inscription, 'One finds nothing so sweet in fidelity as love between a man and wife',</p>
<p>The two exterior faces show scenes from classical mythology promoting selfless dedication: Aeneas escaping burning Troy with his father Anchises, and Alexander visiting Diogenes.</p></p>
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<h1>Cup, copper-gilt and crystals</h1>
<p>Cup, copper-gilt and crystals, Herrengrund, Hungary (now Spania Dolina, Slovakia), about 1700, museum number: 796-1891<br/><br/>
<h3>Cup</h3>
<p>Copper-gilt and crystals<br />Herrengrund , Hungary (now Spania Dolina, Slovakia); about 1700<br />Inscribed in German 'I come from iron but the power of the water has turned me into copper in a mine in Herrengrund'.</p>
<p>This is a souvenir from about 1700 of the Herrengrund copper mines in Hungary. Its inscription alludes to the miracles wrought by the local water. High in copper sulphate, the water collected in hollows and deposited copper on to iron scraps. In the centre of the cup is a miner at work, surrounded by crystals of iron pyrites.</p></p>
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<h1>Door Furniture, brass</h1>
<p>Door Furniture, brass, cast and gilt, England, about 1775, museum number: M.3–2004<br/><br/>
<h3>Door Furniture</h3>
<p>Brass, cast and gilt<br />England; about 1775</p>
<p>This fine set of door furniture is a recent addition to the V&amp;A collections. It is based on designs by one of Britain's greatest 18th-century architects, Robert Adam (1728-92), and was probably made by an important Midlands locksmith, Thomas Blockley (1705-89). The design reflects Adam's professed aim for 'light mouldings, gracefully formed'. The urn-shaped escutcheon swivels to reveal a key hole plate, while one of the rams' heads turns to act as a secondary bolt. The other is a dummy to balance the design.</p></p>
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<h1>Snuff Box, sheet copper</h1>
<p>Snuff Box, sheet copper, raised, tinned inside and engraved, England, dated 1792, museum number: M.1030–1926<br/><br/>
<h3>Snuff Box</h3>
<p>Sheet copper, raised, tinned inside and engraved<br />England, dated 1792<br />Owner's initials 'IAR, 1792'<br />Croft Lyons bequest</p>
<p>Tobacco was introduced into Europe from South America in the 1560s. Over the next 100 years smoking became popular, particularly in Britain and the Netherlands, although taking snuff (powdered tobacco) was considered more gentlemanly. Snuff-taking required proper etiquette. One inhaled a pinch in each nostril from the base of the thumb, used a handkerchief to dab one's nose and brush one's collar, and at all times resisted sneezing.</p>
<p>A large consignment of tobacco commandeered by English ships at Vigo Bay was sold on the London market in 1703, increasing its popularity. Snuff boxes became essential accessories for the man about town and provided lucrative business for manufacturers. By 1750 snuff boxes were mass produced in brass.</p>
<p>Snuff boxes needed to be light and comfortable if they were to be carried in one's pocket. Coffin-shaped snuff boxes reminded snuff-takers that life's pleasures would pass. This one reinforces the message with an engraved hourglass on the lid. They were sufficiently popular to be noticed by Charles Dickens. "'You'll make your fortune, Mr. Sowerberry,' said the beadle, as he thrust his thumb and forefinger into the proffered snuff-box of the undertaker: which was an ingenious little model of a patent coffin." (Oliver Twist, 1839)</p></p>
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<h1>Candelabrum, brass</h1>
<p>Candelabrum, brass, cast and mounted with glass, Birmingham, England, 1846, designed by A.W.N. Pugin (1812–52); made by Hardman &amp;amp; Co., museum number: 2740–1851<br/><br/>
<h3>Candelabrum</h3>
<p>Brass, cast and mounted with glass<br />Birmingham, England; 1846<br />Designed by A.W.N. Pugin (1812-52); made by Hardman &amp; Co.</p>
<p>This magnificent six-light candelabrum was part of a series designed by AWN Pugin in 1846. A fine example of the Gothic Revival style, which Pugin championed, it may have been designed to go in the rebuilt Houses of Parliament. It was made by Pugin's preferred manufacturer, the Birmingham firm of John Hardman and Co. This was one of the Museum's early purchases, bought from the Great Exhibition in 1851 where Pugin designed the Medieval Court. The Museum paid £7 for it and catalogued it as 'English, modern'.</p></p>
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<h1>Chafing Dish and Stand, raised copper with cast brass fittings</h1>
<p>Chafing Dish and Stand, raised copper with cast brass fittings, electroplated inside, London, England, about 1895, museum number: M.38–1972<br/><br/>
<h3>Chafing Dish And Stand</h3>
<p>Raised copper, with cast brass fittings, electroplated inside<br />London, England, about 1895<br />Marked 'BENSON' for designer W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924), made in his workshop</p>
<p>This chafing dish, supported on a stand over a burner, kept food warm. W.A.S. Benson's strikingly original and simple designs exploited the combination of copper and brass. Copper is easily worked and retains its strength. It also conducts heat. Brass handles allow this dish to be carried without risk of burnt fingers.</p>
<p>Benson was also an amateur engineer. He combined an Arts and Crafts passion for the handmade with the use of modern machinery. William Morris called him 'Mr Brass Benson' for his prolific use of the metal.</p></p>
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<h1>Bath taps and design, copper</h1>
<p>Bath taps and design, copper, silver and white metal, London, England, about 1900, designed by Nelson Dawson (1859–1942), museum numbers: CIRC.191–1963, E.717-1976<br/><br/>
<h3>Bath Taps and Design</h3>
<p>Copper, silver and white metal (possibly Britannia metal)<br />London, England, about 1900<br />Designed by Nelson Dawson (1859-1942); made in his workshop</p>
<p>A feature of the metalware collection is that much of it was designed primarily for use rather than just for display. These bath taps, were made for William Frederick Danvers Smith (1868-1928), 2nd Viscount Hambleden, who was a senior partner in WH Smith and Sons. They were installed in his house, Greenlands, near Henley-on-Thames (now a management training college).</p>
<p>In Nelson Dawson, Smith chose one of England's most important Arts and Crafts designers. Dawson adopted a European approach of combining metals. His drawing for these taps, dated May 1900, is also in the V&amp;A.</p>
<p>The design, incorporating blue enamels and silver, was more ambitious than the end product.</p></p>
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<h1>Maria Jauhianen, &#039;Lehti&#039;</h1>
<p>Maria Jauhianen, &#039;Lehti&#039;, sheet brass, photo-etched and powder-coated, London, England, 2004, museum number: M.7–2004<br/><br/>
<h3>Lehti</h3>
<p>Sheet brass, photo-etched and powder-coated<br />London, England, 2004<br />Maria Jauhianen (b. 1971)<br />Winner of the Applied Metal Design Category of the Oxo Peugeot Design Awards, 2003</p>
<p>Brass remains primarily a functional metal. However, a few contemporary designers are using brass and decorating it with bright and exciting finishes.</p>
<p>With Lehti ('Leaf') the Finnish metalworker Maria Jauhianen confounds normal expectations of metal to create a delicate, seemingly weightless fruit bowl. She photo-etched her drawings of a decomposing leaf onto a thin metal sheet and dissolved the remaining areas with acid. Red powder-coating has given the bowl great strength and flexibility.</p></p>
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<div class="field field-type-content-taxonomy field-field-vam-album-tags">
<div class="field-label">Album tags:&nbsp;</div>
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lightbox </div>
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brass </div>
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candelsticks </div>
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plates </div>
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tableware </div>
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lighting </div>
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eating </div>
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drinking </div>
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tobacco </div>
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alcohol </div>
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alcoholbrasscandelsticksdrinkingeatinglightboxlightingplatestablewaretobaccoTue, 19 Oct 2010 09:57:40 +00001438 at http://www.vam.ac.uk/users